World of Goo contest taps creative talent of gamers

Spike TV's "Independent Game of the Year" is getting a big publicity boost …

Indie darling World of Goo is still being talked about, and deservedly so. GameTrailers.com, the web's largest archive of video game videos outside of YouTube, has announced a new contest in which players can submit a creative short video using the game's "build what you want" mode and free soundtrack. Take this elephant, for example. Entrants can also submit videos that "imitate the World of Goo in real life" using everyday items.

Winners from three categories—creativity, originality, and execution—will be selected by GameTrailers and announced on April 14th. First-place prizes include a trip for 2 to E3 2009, 10,000 Nintendo Points, a Wii, Nintendo DSi, 52" flat screen, and a Bose home theater system. Two runner-ups from each category will each receive a Wii, Nintendo DSi, and 10,000 Nintendo Points while "honorable mentions" have a shot at 2,000 Wii points.

If the sheer joy, low-price, critical praise, and Peter Moore remarks weren't enough to get you to play World of Goo, maybe cold hard cash in the form of tangible goods will.